NONES, Benjamin 1757–1826. US soldier. Nones was born in Bordeaux, France, and came to the United States during the revolutionary period. He served as an aide to General Washington, with the rank of major, and was cited for bravery in battle. After independence, he settled in Philadelphia and became a leader of the local Jewish community. He supported the abolitionist movement and voluntarily freed his own slaves. [Who’s Who in Jewish History, 1974]
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Six Jews are recognized by the Jewish War Veterans of America as earning the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
(see Official Website of CMOHS.org: The Congressional Medal of Honor Society ).
On March 15, 1896, seventy-eight Jewish Civil War veterans of the Union armies gathered
and met in New York City's Lexington Opera House.
From: Jewish Heroes and Heroines of America, © 1996, written by Seymour
"Sy" Brody of Delray Beach, Florida, illustrated by Art Seiden of
Woodmere, New York, and published by Lifetime Books, Inc., Hollywood, FL.
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Jews fought on both sides during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Some of the most notable fights during the three years' Boer war — such as the Gun Hill incident before the Siege of LadysmithSiege of Ladysmith The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, Colony of Natal.... — involved Jewish soldiers like Major Karri Davies. Nearly 2,800 Jews fought on the BritishUnited Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe.... side and the London Spectator counted that 125 were killed. [Jewish Encyclopedia]
Around 300 Jews served among the Boers during the second Boer War and were known as Boerjode: those who had citizenship rights were conscripted along with other burghers ("citizens"), but there were also a number of volunteers. Jews fought under the Boers' Vierkleur ("four colored") flag in many of the major battles and engagements and during the guerilla phase of the war, and a dozen are known to have died. Around 80 were captured and held in British POW camps in South Africa. Some were sent as far afield as St. Helena.
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The number of Jews at the front was
disproportionately large—it amounted to some thirty thousand,
owing to the fact that, in accordance with the usual military
regulations, the Jewish recruits from the Western governments
were generally despatched to Siberia, so that, at the very
outset, they were near the theatre of military operations.
Disproportionately large was also the number of Jewish
physicians in the reserves.
Out of the thirty physicians who were mobilized in Kiev
twenty-six were Jews. In Odessa, the Jews furnished twenty-one
physicians out of thirty. [Dubnov THE JEWS IN RUSSIA AND POLAND. V3 p 95.]
Discrimination of Jews in the Russian army
during military service before 1917
Joseph Trumpeldor [November 21, 1880 – March 1, 1920]
During the Russo-Japanese War, he participated in the siege of Port Arthur, where he lost his left arm to shrapnel.
Trumpeldor subsequently received four decorations for bravery including the Cross of St. George, which made him the most
decorated Jewish soldier in Russia. In 1906 he became the first Jew in the army to receive an officer's commission.
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When the United States declared war against Germany in April 1917, Jews represented
only 3.27 % of the total population, yet they made up 5.73% of the country armed forces.
From more than 250,000 Jews served approximately 3,500 Jews were killed.
[
Seymour Brody., 1995]
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During the Second World Wars Jews played an active part that exceeds the proportion to their numbers in the general populations. Many will know the Jewish Brigade (1944-46), the 51st (mainly Jewish Palestinians) Middle East Commando, the SIG (Special Interrogation Group) Commando in North Africa, the Jewish members of SOE, and other Jewish groups of World War Two.
Below some information from the book “Striking Back: A Jewish Commando's War Against the Nazis” by Peter Masters, 1997
No 51 Middle East (Jewish) Commandos - consisting of about 87 German speaking Palestinian Jews - was to be formed into "a Special German Group as a sub-unit of M E Commandos with the cover name 'Special Interrogation Group', to be used for infiltration behind the German lines in the Western Desert, under 8th Army. 19 of the 87 died.
Below some names:
Dov Cohen, Bernard Lowenthal (3i) and Israel Carmi (who was later an officer in the Jewish Brigade and the Israeli Army (MT). Karl Kahane/Cahanna (3a Dolph
Zeintner and Philip Kogel, Maurice "Monju" Tiefenbrunner a.k.a. Tiffen, Ariyeh Shai a.k.a. aka Sheinik/Sheikin, Rosenzweig, Corporal Drory, Goldstein and Rohr, Isaac "Harry" Levy, Peter Gottlieb, Vladimir Peniakoff and many others.
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Martin Gilbert estimates that 6,000 Jews volunteered to fight for the Union; and an additional 1,200 fought for the Confederacy. Roughly 250,000 Jews fought for the United States in World War I, another 550,000 in World War II. See Gilbert, Atlas of Jewish History (New York 1976).